Matjaž Pograjc (born 1967 in
Ljubljana
{{Infobox settlement
, name = Ljubljana
, official_name =
, settlement_type = Capital city
, image_skyline = {{multiple image
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) is a Slovenian
theatre director
A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...
and one of Slovenia's most prominent theatre artists.
Life and work
Studies in
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...
and radio direction (AGRFT,
Ljubljana
{{Infobox settlement
, name = Ljubljana
, official_name =
, settlement_type = Capital city
, image_skyline = {{multiple image
, border = infobox
, perrow = 1/2/2/1
, total_widt ...
). In 1990, he founded the
Betontanc group,
with which he develops and researches choreographical and physical forms of stage expression, employing ideologically oriented themes – especially from the world of urban adolescence. Another important part of his research is dedicated to verbal theatrical structure; with the aid of the
Mladinsko Theatre ensemble, Pograjc explores a directional concept based on original interpretations of contemporary dramatic texts or the contributions of the acting team. His method of interpretation involves different genres of pop culture, under which he discovers modern archetypal models of a lost civilization, chaos, violence and cruelty.
[ Jana Pavlič, Castration Machines, Maska 2001]
Major works
*
Mladinsko Theatre:
*
Bernard-Marie Koltès: ''Roberto Zucco'', 1996
* ''Butterendfly'' (based on M. Butterfly by
David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yellow ...
, 1995).
* ''A Place I've Never Been'', 1996.
* D. Z. Frey: ''Tirza'', 1997.
* ''Who's Afraid of
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...
?'', 1999.
* ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' (based on
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...
, 2000.
* J. M. Barrie – M. Pograjc: ''Peter Pan'', 2001.
*
Peter Weiss: ''The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat'', 2002.
* ''Play it Again, Caligula'' (based on
Albert Camus
Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...
: Caligula), 2003.
* Daša Doberšek, Branko Jordan, Nataša Matjašec: ''Luluby'', 2004.
*
Tena Štivičić: ''Fragile!'', 2005.
*
Fabio Rubiano O.: ''The Whale’s Belly'', 2006.
* ''Love to Death'' (A concert for a chef, six apprentices and three dishwashers), 2007.
*
Betontanc:
* ''Poets without Pockets, Ljubljana'', 1990.
* ''Romeo and Juliet'', Ljubljana, 1991.
* ''Every Word a Gold Coin Worth'', Ljubljana, 1992.
* ''Wet Hanky Thieves'', Ljubljana, Angers, 1993.
* ''Know Your Enemy!'', Ljubljana, 1995.
* ''On Three Sides of Heaven'', Ljubljana, 1997.
* ''The Secret Sunshine Schedule'', Bunker Productions, Ljubljana, 1999.
* ''Midnight Meat Flight'', 2000.
* ''Maison des rendez-vous'', Ljubljana, Rennes, 2002.
* ''Wrestling Dostoievsky'', Vienna, 2004.
* ''Everybody for Berlusconi'', Junghollandia and Betontanc, 2004.
* ''Show Your Face!'', Betontanc and Umka.LV, 2006.
Honours, awards and recognitions
* Grand prix Bagnolet '92, Paris, 1992
* Borštnik Award for special achievements, Maribor, Slovenia, 1992
* Prešeren Fund Award for directions in Mladinsko Theatre and Betontanc, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 1997
* Best breakthrough choreographer-director in the »Top Five in New York 2000« section of the New York Times (after the tour in La MaMa with The Secret Sunshine Schedule), New York, USA, 2000
* The Villanueva Award to the performance Who's Afraid of Tennessee Williams? as one of the best foreign productions in Cuba, 2003
* Marul Award for best direction for Fragile!, Days of Marulić Festival, Split, Croatia, 2006
* Grand Prix of the Borštnik Drama Meeting for Fragile!, Maribor, Slovenia, 2006
References
External links
Tena Štivičić's Fragile at 52nd Sterijino Pozorje Festival/ Mladinsko Theatre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pograjc, Matjaz
1967 births
Living people
Theatre people from Ljubljana
Slovenian theatre directors
Slovenian choreographers